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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29474763">returning the favor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostfamousgrl/pseuds/almostfamousgrl'>almostfamousgrl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Ending, Fix-It, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:00:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29474763</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostfamousgrl/pseuds/almostfamousgrl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>there is absolutely no way that MY dean winchester would leave cas in the empty, rip supernatural writers but i'm different. anyway this is finale fix-it fic</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>returning the favor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s no way to know how long he sits there. At some point his legs start to go numb, but he still can’t force himself to move. The silence is suffocating, the words still ringing in his ears, playing over and over again.</p><p>
  <em> Goodbye Dean. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I love you. </em>
</p><p>He feels his shoulders shake, feels the hot tears running down his face but it all seems distant - numb. His body operating without his permission.  </p><p>When he finally lifts his head he takes his shaking hands and presses them together, squeezing his eyes shut tight. “Cas I don’t know if you can hear me. Hell I don’t know if anyone hears these anymore. But if anyone is out there listening...I’m coming for Cas. I’m coming for you man, and there isn’t a thing on this earth or any other that’s going to stop me.” </p><p>Several more horrible, silent minutes pass before he’s able to push himself up, still leaning on the wall for support while he shakes out his muscles. The spot where the empty opened up is still. The carnage Billie left in her wake is all that remains. </p><p>The momentum takes him straight to the garage, straight to the Impala, and on the road. He needs to find Sam...he has to tell Jack. He wipes away tears as he drives, willing himself not to feel the grief that’s consuming him.</p><p>-</p><p>Sam and Jack aren’t looking much better. Everyone is gone. Everyone they worked to save. It wasn’t Billie after all, which hits Dean like a knife to the heart. It didn’t matter. None of it even mattered. </p><p>“Where’s Cas?” Jack asks. Sam looks like he already has it figured out, given the state Dean’s in when he drives up. </p><p>Dean scrubs a hand across his face before he can look at Jack again, big earnest eyes still hopeful, always hopeful.</p><p>“He didn’t make it.” Jack’s face falls, and Sam puts a hand on his shoulder. Dean doesn’t have any more words than that, doesn’t have the capacity left to say anything comforting, or to tell either of them what he plans to do.</p><p>Right now, they have to find Chuck. </p><p>-</p><p>Broken and bloody, Dean watches God fall. He watches Jack take that horrible power and use it to do something decent. And they leave him. Human and alone, to live in his last world until it kills him.</p><p>Cas would be proud, he thinks. Of Jack. Of Dean for walking away. Of Sam for coming up with this plan in the first place. </p><p>
  <em> I love you. </em>
</p><p>-</p><p>“Dean it’s the middle of the night.” He doesn’t look up from the book he’s reading. He hears Sam come and sit down across the table from him.</p><p>A hand covers the paragraph he’s trying to read and he finally looks up to glower at his brother. “You need to sleep. You can’t keep doing this.” </p><p>“Can’t sleep.” He shoves Sam off and goes back to working. There has to be some way to get to The Empty. Some lore they’d overlooked the last time. This is the last thing he needs to fix.</p><p>“Look man, I want to get Cas back too but you can’t stop taking care of yourself.” </p><p>Dean clenches his hands into fists. “I can’t stop Sam. I can’t stop until I figure this out.”</p><p>“We’ll find a way, we always do. Just because Jack couldn’t help doesn’t mean-”</p><p>“Well this isn’t on Jack!” He snaps, slamming the book shut. “This was my fault. He’s gone because of me so I’m the one who has to put things right.” </p><p>Sam stares at him. “He made his choice. He did what any of us would have done. He saved you so we could stop Chuck and we did.” </p><p>It’s on the tip of his tongue. It’s all about to come spilling out - everything Cas said, everything Dean didn’t say back. Everything left unspoken laid bare between them and no resolution. He feels like he might burst from holding it all in. </p><p>But he does. “I owe him this. He’d do the same for me.” </p><p>Sam leaves him alone after that.</p><p>-</p><p>The summoning spell is complex. It’s the kind of thing Sam would be better at. But Sam can’t know what he’s doing. Especially since there’s a good chance it doesn’t even work. It’s not worth dragging his brother into it. </p><p>At this point, even Dean knows he's lying when he thinks that, but it doesn’t change anything.</p><p>It takes a lot of blood and a lot of complex incantations. He’s dizzy by the time he’s done. But nothing happens. No oozing black hole appears on the wall. No sound, no light, just nothing.</p><p>So he tries again.</p><p>And again.</p><p>And again until he’s lost too much blood. He needs to stop. He needs to sleep, to regroup, to try again. </p><p><em> Goodbye Dean </em>.</p><p>It rings in his ears as he tries again. Pouring literally, everything he has into this last hope. He slumps back against the bookcase, barely making it through the words. </p><p>And something stirs. The wall shifts and melts into black sludge, shaking the room as it does. Everything tilts and he’s not sure if it’s reality warping or just the lack of sleep and bodily fluids. </p><p>“You know I really thought I was done seeing your ugly mug.” The Empty quips, stepping out still wearing Meg’s face.  “Finally had some peace and quiet while you were all busy taking out your daddy dearest. Thanks for keeping him by the way - never liked the guy,” it whispers, like it’s sharing a secret. </p><p>Dean forces himself to stand up straight, unsteady on his feet. “I want the angel back.” </p><p>Meg nods sagely. “Yeah I’d kind of figured that one out. Normally if a guy doesn’t answer the first few calls, you should take the hint and quit calling.” </p><p>“Just cut to the chase. What do you want? You know I’ll do it.” He’s too tired to even banter well. Meg’s smirking face appraises him from where it’s standing in the center of the room.</p><p>He knows he looks bad. He’s probably pale - his eyes are red rimmed and puffy, from crying he won’t admit to anyone. But he straightens up anyway and meets its gaze. He’s still Dean fucking Winchester, and the entire universe should know he’s good for his word.</p><p>“My my my what is it about that little Castiel. When I realized what his moment of true happiness was oh-” it pauses to put a hand over her heart “my heart just broke. Real melodramatic stuff.” </p><p>Dean curls his hand into a fist. The Empty notices this and moves, walking towards him slowly. When it arrives it puts a finger under his chin, tipping his face around to examine him.</p><p>“It’s too bad your boyfriend is mine now. Something about finders keepers.” It turns back towards the portal, intent on leaving him there.</p><p>He would be the first to admit that his next move is stupid.</p><p>Which is to rush past her and through the portal itself.</p><p>The weight of the darkness inside is crushing. It feels harder to breathe here, like the air is thicker. “Cas!” He calls out to the never ending stretches of darkness all around him. “Cas can you hear me?”</p><p>His voice rings out in the silence. “You insolent little ape!” he hears just before something slams into his back and takes him to whatever constitutes a floor in this dimension. “Did you think this would work? That this would lead to anything but your death?”</p><p>He tries to stand but the force is too much and he only makes it to his knees. The Empty grabs him by the collar and holds him up like a disobedient kitten. “I was content to let you live until you did that.” </p><p>The pressure around him increases and he thinks at least, finally, he’ll get some rest. </p><p>And all at once it’s gone and he manages to get his feet under him again. The Empty screams, an all consuming and inhuman sound. “Oh I am tired of the two of you!” </p><p>He rights himself and turns to see him - Castiel is there, fists clenched, having collided hard enough with The Empty to get it off of him. The Empty is still screaming and the pressure is mounting again. Without thinking Dean grabs Cas by the shoulder and drags him back to the portal. </p><p>It has its own gravity, pulling them in and out, back to the bunker and knitting closed behind them, the screaming and pressure and darkness all gone in an instant. </p><p>They crash into the metal shelves. It takes the wind out of Dean and for a moment he’s laid out, coughing and spluttering. The portal doesn’t reopen. The Empty let’s them go.</p><p>“Dean? Stay still.” Cas’ voice is soft and calm. It’s easy to obey. Gentle hands cup his face and that telltale warmth spreads through him as Cas’ grace heals his wounds. </p><p>Blinking in the fluorescent light, he sits up carefully. Cas is staring at him, eyebrows furrowed with concern. “Dean that was incredibly stupid. You could have died there.”</p><p>Dean grins back at him, which just makes Cas frown harder. “What, did you think I was just going to leave you there? I still owed you one.” </p><p>Without thinking his hand moves to the back of Cas’ neck and he draws him in gently, their foreheads coming to rest together. Cas breathes out a sigh and relaxes into the touch. “Thank you,” he says softly.</p><p>They separate and sit there in the quiet for a moment before Dean has the guts to look at him. Castiel - here, whole, and alive. “Did...did you really mean what you said?”</p><p>He nods. “Every word Dean.” Dean swallows hard. He practiced this in his head. Thought about it as much as he could stand but it’s still different, to be faced with the prospect of actually saying it out loud. </p><p>“Cas I don’t know how you got it in your head that I...that this wasn’t possible. But you were pretty fucking far off the mark.” The angel tilts his head in that way that is so perfectly <em> Cas.  </em></p><p>“I always thought, eventually we’d get around to sorting it out. I didn’t think that you’d just-” He shakes his head. “But you changed everything for me. You were the first person besides Sammy to think I was good for anything but killing. But you gave up everything for me. And I carried that weight - everything you lost, everything that happened because of me and I just didn’t think I deserved to ask you for anything else.”</p><p>The missing pieces of the puzzles they’ve been slowly assembling for almost a decade are coming together. Cas smiles kindly at him.  “Dean you could ask anything of me. I’d gladly give it.” Dean doesn’t know what to say to that, how to make it clear to Cas that he’s given enough, that he shouldn’t have to bleed for the Winchesters ever again. </p><p>Instead, Dean stares into Cas’ piercing blue gaze and steels himself to finally lay all his cards on the table. </p><p>“I love you too.”</p><p>It feels <em> right </em>. </p><p>He pulls Cas in again to keep him close, to remind him that this is real and now nothing is ever coming between them again. When their lips meet it's just a brush-just for a moment. They’ve got all the time in the world now. </p><p>“Dean what happened I heard -” Sam barrels into the room stopping short when he sees Cas. Dean watches him go through a number of emotions in that moment: there’s relief, at seeing Cas, anger towards Dean for whatever it is he did, confusion at how they’re situated. Then, finally, understanding. </p><p>Cas rises and Sam pulls him into a hug, clapping him on the back and exchanging comments about how it’s good to see each other. Dean pulls himself to his feet with some difficulty, feeling exhausted all the way to his bones. </p><p>He looks at them, the two people he loves most in the world. His family together again, if just a broken piece of it. </p><p>It’s enough.</p>
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